Beyond Forever
by Zerbinetta
Summary: After the battle is fought and love reclaimed, Kagome and Kurama must face new challenges on their way to happiness: namely, high school, parents and those that know of their masquerade. The promised series of vignettes in the FWTE universe. Status: 2/10
1. Theme I: The New Girl in Town

**o.O.o**

**Theme I: The New Girl in Town**

**o.O.o**

Meiou Academy was suffering a crisis quite unlike anything that had ever happened before. It all began scarcely a month ago, but the rapid change in the school atmosphere was more than visible now.

Most of the girls (read: the not-so-secret fanclub, i.e. stalkers of one Minamino Shuichi), who were usually bubbly and simpering and quite energetic in the pursuit of their idol were now getting somewhat jittery and panicky whenever they perceived a chance and downright hysterical when that chance came and went.

The boys – with the possible exception of one Yuu Kaito – on the other hand were coming to appreciate their star student much more these days, congratulating him whenever any girls they might be interested in came within sight. Most reasoned that the girls would get over their massive heartbreak and desperate attempts to avert the inevitable within some months.

Within a year, they should have reasonably come to terms with the facts of life.

This crisis, or rather, the person causing it, had a name and a face; the name, the girls didn't really care much about, as the more vindictive ones among them were entirely ready to give the culprit creative names of their own, ranging from the mild to the downright malicious. The face, however, was what had them worried, because they couldn't really find fault with it.

Her name: Higurashi Kagome. Age: going on seventeen, which was an ideal match. Occupation: student of a high school in Nerima, but, more importantly, girlfriend and supposed fiancée of Minamino Shuichi. Appearance: long black hair, blue eyes, moderate height, athletic build. Other facts weren't as important, but were equally distressing.

Needless to say, the girls of Meiou Academy were not amused.

The general opinion before her existence had been discovered was that Shuichi simply couldn't have a girlfriend, because A, he was too perfect, B, he showed no interest beyond the formal and polite in the dozens – _dozens_ – of girls who offered him chocolate on Valentine's Day and C, it would break the hearts of all these fans idolizing him.

Thus it was hardly a surprise that the female population of the high school hated Higurashi Kagome with a fiery passion of a thousand suns.

There had been several attempts to try and corner her at her home to find out her weakness, but apparently, her family was somewhat wacky – read: her grandpa, who chased them away with sutras that looked like flypapers to their eyes – and, as she wasn't a student of Meiou, their other options were very limited.

However, the fanclub was clingy enough to be desperate and desperation meant choices that were somewhat crazy and would likely classify as minor offences.

Namely, stalking.

Even now, seated in a cozy café far enough from both of their schools to avoid classmates and friends but close enough to feel comfortable, both Kurama and Kagome kept a wary eye on their surroundings as to make certain that no one they didn't want to see was around. Usually, they had a good deal of fun with evading these half-baked attempts at intelligence gathering or disrupting their dates; or rather, Kagome had fun and laughed a lot, which was enough for Kurama to continue tolerating these things for the time being.

It made dates a bit difficult, though, especially when the persistent chase refused to end.

"So how are you settling in?" Kurama asked after their order was brought. He was still only just getting used to the notion of seeing the priestess in modern clothing, but the change was proving very easy to adjust to. Especially considering that he never saw the beauty of short skirts and sleeveless shirts before the right high school student wore them.

So perhaps he was developing a slight fetish, but a perfectly natural one. No one could deny that Kagome had wonderful legs and now that he could admire them at leisure (when she wasn't looking, just in case) the choice of staying in Ningenkai for the time being didn't seem so grim anymore.

Kagome herself was still a bit self-conscious of all these changes, but it had been weeks – months, actually – since she had entered the jungle that was high school and believed herself to be coping quite well. the three girls that had been "assigned" to her as friends were proving an incredible help in "steering her in the right direction", Eri might claim. In any case, she was happy with the result.

"Some things are still a bit confusing to me, but the crash course I received was relatively thorough in preparation. Besides, you told me a lot even during the tournament."

His lips curled into an indulgent smile that any of the non-present girls would have pulled another's hair out for. "Yes, but that was mostly generalizing." Though the second tournament was more fresh in the minds of most, the thing that had carried him through it was the image of her, his sleeping beauty. Now awake. With him. "I suppose some things have to be learned in person."

Of course, there was much to be learned – especially the uses of the gazillion cosmetics and beauty devices she was now expected to be using as a girl. She rather doubted Kurama could tell her those things without embarrassment; though admittedly, Yuka had been right about his hair being far too perfect.

"I guess." She smiled as well, though it was a bit bemused. "Are you still getting trouble from your admirers?" By admirers she meant infatuated girls and by infatuated girls she meant shrieking adolescents who never failed to give her death glares when she came to visit him at school. It was one of the reasons why they usually met in their own free time, but after enduring the more animalistic world of Makai for so many decades, Kagome was well aware that she had to make her claim known once in a while.

She would never forget the White Day that came soon after her arrival to Ningenkai, when she received a large bouquet of flowers – all custom-grown, none spraying sleeping powder this time – in front of her whole class during lunch break. Personally delivered.

Kurama shook his head with a quiet sigh, sipping his tea before it could get too cold. "I'll never understand how you can consider my situation amusing. You didn't all those years ago."

"Well, that was a bit different." Back then, she didn't acknowledge, let alone understand her feelings. Once one got past the whole denial part and figured out why it hurt so much to simply watch, things got much easier. "I'm sorry; I imagine that it must be rather frustrating to you, since you can't really do much about it."

"Indeed." Here, one simply had to be patient and assume that eventually, they would give up on him and find boyfriends. Of course, in this case, eventually was a relative term that could mean _within the decade_. "But you are doing something about it with your presence alone, to my satisfaction I might add."

It wasn't too difficult to guess that the girls both hated and were jealous of Kagome – and, in his opinion, there was plenty to be jealous of when one looked at her. the only thing not to the satisfaction of his more primal instincts was that they weren't yet mated, so the claim they had on each other was verbal and emotional, but not physical. However, it was easily acknowledgeable that it would be a scandal if two teenagers just finishing high school got married simply like that. they had to wait a bit.

But he had all the time in the world. And so did she.

Kagome's lilting laugh filled the room, warmer than their hot drinks. Her blue eyes twinkled at him fondly, almost with mischief. She wasn't angered by the suggestion that she was almost like a watchdog protecting him.

"What is it?" he asked, uncertain what to think of this pleasing change to her usually hot-and-cold attitude. However, it was possible that love had mellowed out her hot temper somewhat.

"Nothing, just… well… you haven't changed all that much, I guess." Human or demon, he was the one she adored. "I do miss the ears, though. What?" she added, frowning quizzically when she received the very smile she had given him right back, mischief free of charge.

"Koenma was quite wrong." Kurama noted softly, studying her with an intensity that made her blush. The desire was carefully concealed beneath a great fondness, but she had spent enough time memorizing the expressions his eyes conveyed to see it there. "You haven't changed at all."

She ignored the little friendly and triumphant jab at her, as a warm hand gently descended upon hers as she returned the sugar to its place after sweetening her drink. "I guess this is fate, then."

"There are much worse fates, I assure you."

"Spending your life with me is something you'd consider a bad fate?" she teased, feeling fingers closing around her hand, promising never to let go.

"Perhaps only in comparison to spending an eternity with you." He held her gaze evenly, but then his eyes shifted a few degrees to the right and she saw the groan Kurama would never allow himself to voice pass through his eyes.

Kagome knew not to look around. She knew this look far too well. glancing outside, she saw the heavy raindrops falling in rapid waves. It was no time to leave the café now – neither of them had an umbrella and the station was quite a ways away. however, judging by the volume of whispering and poorly concealed giggling coming from the side – along with the feeling that someone was glaring heavily at her back – Kagome understood that it was time to go.

"Make no sudden movements." Kurama spoke quietly, though he wasn't quite whispering – something that might have been beneath his dignity. The priestess berated herself for finding the tone sensual, despite the danger in it. "This will require proper timing. Have you finished your drink?"

She gulped it down rather too quickly to appear nonchalant, but it was a cool spring morning outside, therefore Kagome could be excused for a lack of subtlety. Kurama recognized the giggling band of girls, especially since they all stopped their simpering upon noticing him and proceeded t whisper theatrically among themselves before putting on their best sickeningly sweet smiles and directing them at him, waving in a horrible impression of shyness. The other patrons of the café were beginning to notice.

This could be a potentially embarrassing situation. And they couldn't simply walk out into the rain like this, as it would look purely ridiculous.

It was testament to his skill as a thief that Kurama was able to get his own mobile phone under the table without being noticed at all and dial Kagome's number. The priestess fished out her own phone upon hearing the first notes of _Danger Zone_, her current ringtone. However, she raised her eyebrows when she saw the number of the caller and peered up quizzically at the demon. Kurama's green eyes were staring at her unblinkingly.

_Answer it._ he was saying. _It's your move now._

Fortunately, Kagome was able to understand this nonverbal communication after a few seconds and a very shrill giggle. Swallowing, she hoped that she hadn't hesitated for much too long before picking it up, addressing her mother clearly. The perks about living with someone like jii-chan was that she was able to invent far-fetched stories without compromising herself. So when she feigned astonishment that her uncle had come down with a rather obscurely-known disease, it was an almost believable lie.

Before the now clearly scheming girls could even figure out what was going on, Kurama and Kagome had finished their drinks, paid for them and were running through the rain, the latter laughing merrily, the former shielding her head from the rain rather unsuccessfully with his jacket. By the time they managed to reach a rather deserted train station, both of them were soaked to the skin jacket or no jacket.

Kagome continued her laughing, though. "You could have nudged me or something!" she finally exclaimed, demonstrating said action on her companion quite easily. The jacket she had held above her head is now completely soaked, but she slips into it and wraps it around her as if it were the only heat source in the night.

"Possibly, but then you couldn't claim that this was a joint effort of imagination and masterful trickery." Carefully, Kurama wiped several black strands from her pale but shining face. Parole and service to the Spirit World wasn't as bad as he might have imagined years ago, he considered. If he could keep her and have her remain like this… well, there wasn't much more he could ask for.

"What do you mean?" the priestess scoffed, hands on her hips suddenly. "I did all the work while you watched as I rambled on into a mute telephone!" Again, she nudged him, her face a mix of smiles and frowns; but it is clear which one is winning, because, after all, it's Kagome, who can't remain angry for too long, especially now.

It was she who expanded his idea, but the mood was too good for him to ruin with pointing out the logical. Instead, Kurama smiled at her, hoping to quench the fire before it spread. "I think we should both simply admit that we work flawlessly together."

That was all right with her, Kagome decided, though she couldn't stop her cheeks from coloring. She was quite certain this was the first time anyone had received a compliment of such magnitude from him. Looking away, she mustered a smile that bordered on shyness, almost colliding with him. In the moment she wasn't paying attention, Kurama had moved with the preternatural speed of a demon to be closer to her and stop any possible argument she might raise.

But was highly unnecessary when, despite their slight difference in height, their noses almost collided when the priestess´ head whipped around to face him again. The breath she had been about to let out and allow to give voice to her opinion caught in her throat.

"Yes…" Her voice sounded as if she had run a thousand miles to reach this point. "Perfect…" Because he _is_, despite his tendency to mock, the cold fire that his anger ignites and the chiding sarcasm he often employs beneath the façade of utter kindness. Perfect… perfect for _her_.

She is too close. Far too tantalizingly close. Even if he counted to a thousand and back, Kurama doubted he would numb his awareness enough not to notice the smell of her breath, the darkness in her eyes passion is painting or the rapid beating of her heart that has nothing to do with exhaustion. Everything he had wanted all those years ago.

And, being selfish by nature, Kurama certainly didn't make a habit of denying himself what he wanted so greatly. Propriety and traditional upbringing and convention could be very easily brushed aside – after all, weren't they engaged in the eyes of the world? – and though he wished he could say something meaningful and deep, his instinct overrode any kind of gentlemanly soft-spoken impulses as his hands delved into the tangled damp mass of her hair to hold her in place.

He kissed her as if not doing so would mean losing her and the chance to exist with her; and after Kagome recovered from the initial numbness of surprise, she found that responding to the wonderful feeling building up within her was the easiest thing in the world. From his lips, she learned of need, of passion. Finally, it was she who brought gentleness to the process when her trembling hands cupped his face. The effect was like the calming of a wild animal, in a way, and by the time he pulled away from the sweetness with utmost reluctance, it was more caress than kiss.

Ironically, perhaps, it was she who recovered first. "I think the plan failed."

Kurama overcame the fleeting obsession with the sight of her flushed mouth and saw, with the corner of his eye, several girls with umbrellas rushing away, some of them apparently crying, others trying to appear inconspicuous in the thickening rainstorm, others throwing the girl in his arms highly poisonous glances before sprinting after their friends.

In a way, it was gratifying, though undoubtedly somewhat mean, to do something like this to them. it was highly unlikely that they would attempt such a thing again soon.

"You think so? I believe I won nonetheless." Kurama's fingers continued combing through her hair rather soothingly, if a bit possessively. Not to say that Kagome minded much, though he did look a bit too smug for his own good at the moment.

"And I'm supposed to spend my existence with _you_ and put up with this forever?" Kagome quipped, unable to say anything meaner than that when tremors of everything but fear were passing through her skin when he touched her.

A gentle, deceptive smile. "It's only for the rest of eternity." It wasn't meant to console, not in the least, but the arm snaking its way around her waist helped dim the blow somewhat.

And then he kissed her once again, or perhaps she kissed him, the fleeing girls quite forgotten, along with whatever argument they might have had.

"But if it helps…" he breathed, drinking in the very essence of her, "I promise to go easy on you at times."

Her voice trembled despite the confidence of her statement. "You're lying."

"No." Kurama corrected, "I wouldn't lie to you unless it could protect you somehow. I love you."

It's the first time she has heard those words from him, as he has been very careful in not speaking them before meaning them, even though his actions are more than proof enough.

Kagome smiled broadly as she threw her arms around him and held tightly, content. "I think I can live with that." she whispers as the embrace closes in around her as well, holding her in place.

The next day, dartboards with the name Higurashi Kagome pinned to it were no longer enough. The news spread through the school like wildfire, all the way to the highest ranking members of the Shuichi Minamino fanclub. This new girl, fiancée or not, girlfriend or not, was threatening the careful stability brought forth by years of unsuccessful fighting for Shuichi's heart and his own personal restraint.

The question was: what did Higurashi Kagome have that none of them had? They were determined to find out; not that they ever would. However, one thing was clear.

This meant war.


	2. Theme II: Meet and Greet

Sorry for the long wait for the next installment! However, I have other stories that are just about wrapped-up, so I have to split my attention between all of them and had a bit of a writer's block when it came to this one… anyway, for those who don't know, this is an epilogue-like-expansion of From Wishes to Eternity, which got finished some time ago. there should be about five to eight chapters left, though they certainly won't be too long and certainly _will_ be fluffy.

**o.O.o**

**Theme II: Meet and Greet**

**o.O.o**

The former Minamino Shiori considered herself one of the most fortunate women in Japan, possibly the whole world.

And rightly so; she had been married for a scarce few months after years of a solitary life to an excellent man, had not one, but two wonderful sons now – one of her own and one from her recent remarriage – and her new and old family seemed to have no trouble living with each other peacefully. Yes, life was good.

However, it wasn't until her Shuichi announced that he would like them to have dinner with his girlfriend's family that Shiori found out what was the single thing her happiness had been missing. The calm suggestion during dinner one pleasant evening had surprised all three of them, but for different reasons.

As far as any of then knew, Shuichi didn't date. Which was a paradox, considering the fact that there were many girls that appeared more than willing to take up that role. His younger brother in particular; younger Shuichi (surprisingly, they shared the same first name, which was why the older Shuichi had decided to keep his mother's surname of Minamino) was now often almost assaulted by girls who were intent on having him pass on gifts or letters to his new stepbrother, much to his chagrin. In fact, he was the one who sometimes nagged his brother about not dating, since it meant he himself could never be certain if the girls in the vicinity weren't merely using him to get to his very much popular brother.

Thus, naturally, the announcement that Shuichi did indeed have a girl whose company he deliberately sought out and wished to introduce to his family came as easily as a brick through a new window and twice as casually.

Kurama found the situation somewhat amusing, considering the fact that he had known Kagome longer than any of his current family could ever know, but kept his composure admirably, as was usual for him. And it was pleasant to see his mother brighten up as he gave her small details about Kagome and what he knew of her family (which was a considerable lot). What he didn't tell his family was that he and Kagome had been planning this whole operation for almost a year now, thus making it possibly the most carefully-constructed plan of a meet the parents variety in the history of dating.

It was scheduled for a Saturday evening a week from then, which would give them all sufficient time to prepare. Shiori had hoped to do the cooking, but curiosity overshadowed disappointment when she was told that the Higurashi family resided in a Shinto shrine bigger than their house, thus were more suitably equipped for hosting a dinner affair this large.

She spent the rest of the week idly wondering what kind of girl this Kagome was to have captured her son's interest. Her husband had told her that it was quite all right for Shuichi not to show too much interest in dating while he focused on his studies, but Shiori knew better; Shuichi's keen intellect could seem almost preternatural to the uninitiated and, after years of watching it, she was quite determined that her son couldn't possibly be spending all of his free time studying. Yet he had no time-consuming hobbies she knew of or overwhelming interests (though she always was surprised by his keen knowledge of botany whenever she came across a problem with their houseplants, but attributed that to his encyclopedic knowledge).

The promised day finally came as Friday turned into Saturday at long last. Shiori found herself absent-mindedly cleaning their home before her stepson jokingly remarked that perhaps they were going to have two dinners tonight, since she seemed to be preparing their house for a visit from the Higurashis as well. Shuichi had only smiled politely from behind his book, but Shiori wasn't quite buying the casual act. He could have simply introduced the girl herself to them and not have bothered with the family affair until later.

To Shiori, this evening seemed an important event that might have an effect on her son's future life. Because, even though the younger Shuichi might have muttered under his breath that they were acting as if this was an omiai of some kind, Shiori was quite adamant in her belief that if her son deemed this girl important enough to introduce their families to each other, it might as well qualify as one. Perhaps, she later thought as she was putting on her make-up, this was his way of asking them all if they believed Kagome to be a suitable addition to their family. One could never know. She felt somewhat jittery at the thought

During the train ride to Nerima-ku, she caught herself contemplating idly whether the child had any preference hen it came to western-style and Shinto weddings and realized that she was indeed taking this a little too seriously. Perhaps just a bit.

Sunset Shrine was a traditional and rather wonderfully-situated Shinto building atop a small hill that only the younger Shuichi complained about climbing. The grounds appeared extensive and well-cared for, even though the shrine itself had obviously seen somewhat better days. Somewhat. Today, it appeared that the only thing missing was an abundance of red to show that it was a joyous occasion. Due to the lack of time and resources, that had been one of the casualties of this whole plan.

The solitary figure of a young woman was sweeping the top of the stairs with an old-fashioned broom, humming to herself. She glanced up at them only when the entire family had climbed the stairs and gave the slightest jump, obviously caught unprepared by their more-than-punctual arrival. They were still about ten to fifteen minutes early, it seemed. Torn between faint embarrassment and delight, she appeared to settle on the latter when her eyes met Shuichi's (something that Shiori prided herself on not missing) and gave them all a polite bow.

"Good evening to you. I'm Higurashi Kagome." Her voice wasn't pitched unnaturally high, like most girls her age tried to squeeze it to so that they appeared cuter, but it still showed her obvious youth. "…afraid we were expecting you a bit latter."

During the polite introductions, Shiori decided she approved of the girl. Even half-prepared for the dinner as she was (her face was painted subtly and her hair clearly combed, but it was still tied back in a ribbon that befitted her miko robes – out of which she changed once the opportunity presented itself) she appeared cheerful, pleasant and not at all fake, unlike most of the girls from her son's school she had encountered at times. Only her eyes were highly peculiar; perhaps she had some western blood in her veins, Shiori mused, but the blue did appear rather pleasant on her particular features. Then again, her son's eyes had also always been a mystery to her, as both she and her late husband had distinctly dark eyes, nowhere near bright green.

It was just one of those oddities one learned to live with, she supposed.

Dinner was a pleasant affair, all in all. Kagome didn't seem to have a father, which made it very easy for Shiori to relate with her mother. Then again, at least she had had a steady job and only one mouth to feed as a single mother, whereas Kagome's mother was a homemaker, through and through, with a ten-year-old boy and an almost but not quite senile grandfather to deal with on a daily basis. Plus, the shrine had to be kept running and no doubt there was very little money coming from that…

"So, have you known each other for long, Kagome-chan?"

"It's been quite some time now, Shiori-san." Kagome averted her eyes only for a moment, as if lost in a fond memory.

"Really? Shuichi surprised us a great deal when he told us about tonight." Shiori wondered where exactly these two had first met, since they attended different schools. "Never even gave me a hint in advance; thank goodness I wasn't cleaning any dishes at the time, or else we might be short of a few now."

"I hope it wasn't quite _that _surprising, Mother." Shuichi noted pleasantly, giving a faint smile.

Souta and younger Shuichi, now playing video games in the next room, had already gone through the explanation that some people were obviously going to lose bets about his stepbrother's sexuality or lack thereof with this sudden turn of events. Strangely, it wasn't as funny as it should have been now. Possibly because there was something very nice about the whole thing.

"Of course now; I'm just very glad that you finally found a nice girl, Shuichi. It just came straight out of the blue."

"It was somewhat of a surprise on our side as well," Kagome's mother affirmed, bringing them all some fresh tea. "There only ever was Hojo-kun and he's a sweet boy, but I didn't really think he would ever speak up about what he wanted."

"´Hojo-kun´?" Kurama asked, glancing at his girlfriend rather thoughtfully before deciding that her mother was more likely to answer his question and thus raised an eyebrow at her. "Do I have a rival for my lady's affections?"

Kagome resisted the ever-growing urge to roll her eyes, despite the smile threatening to break out from ear to ear while the two mothers laughed happily.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, Shuichi-kun. I think Hojo-kun only ever brought Kagome medicine she didn't need. Jii-chan tends to enjoy exorcisms in any context."

The grandfather himself, who was snoring in his favorite chair by then, said nothing. Before her mother had the chance to start explaining the whole embarrassing story to their guests, Kagome decided that she couldn't take much more of this.

"I think I need some fresh air now."

"I'll come with you." Kurama sprang to his feet right after her, giving a polite nod to the grown-ups assembled and followed Kagome out to the courtyard.

The mothers watched them leave with rather matched knowing and pleased smiles.

"Desert, anyone?" Kagome's mother asked, rising to her feet to go fetch some cupcakes.

"I believe this is going extremely well." Shiori's husband murmured to her, drinking his tea quite contently. And she was inclined to agree with that observation. "Thank you, Higurashi-san. The whole dinner has been quite wonderful. We will most definitely have to return the favor sometime."

"Oh, yes, certainly!" Shiori added before any kind of protest could be made. It appeared that Shuichi was getting along well with Souta as well, which was nothing short of a miracle, considering her stepson's rather blatant shyness. Something about the whole evening had an air of pleasantness about it. "We would love to have you over sometime. Even next week, if possible."

"We'll definitely consider it – shall I let you know through Shuichi-kun?"

"Would that be possible?"

Mrs. Higurashi nodded easily. "He usually comes around on Wednesdays to tutor Kagome in math." Admittedly, Shuichi had never specified who he was helping with school, but even Shiori felt somewhat mystified by the fact that her own son hadn't revealed the existence of his girlfriend to them earlier. Of course, privacy was important, but surely he could have told his own family…

"Splendid, then." She heard her husband say. "I hope we'll see you then."

Outside, Kagome was fuming by the Goshinboku. Leave it to her mother to start with the embarrassing stories. Certainly, having "returned from Europe" so abruptly had led to some interest being directed towards her person, but the most obvious of attentions came from one Hojo-kun from Class B; a polite, soft-spoken and kind boy who was apparently the idol of the school, everything an upstanding young man should be… and boring, boring, _boring_. Of course, Yuka, Eri and Ayumi hadn't hesitated a moment to try and set her up with the upstanding Hojo-kun, who appeared to harbor an innocent affection for her.

If there was one thing Kagome knew not to underestimate by now, it was the scheming of teenage girls. The hours she had spent at WacDonald's, trying to convince them that she had no interest in Hojo-kun… needless to say, only downright dragging them to Meiou High with Botan in tow to see her boyfriend in person had persuaded them.

Even though they still kind of resented Kurama for having better hair than them. A bit. He was one of those people that were difficult to stay angry with, they discovered, especially since he always treated them with the utmost cordiality.

"Things are going quite well inside, you will be pleased to know."

The smiling face of her – for lack of a better word – boyfriend brought her back to the subject at hand, which were embarrassing stories about her newfound mortal life. Slumping against the sacred tree (but carefully, so that she didn't damage her blue dress), Kagome groaned.

"Have they gotten to the baby pictures yet? That wouldn't be that embarrassing, at least."

"Not least of all because we both know the truth about those pictures." Kurama noted, eyes smiling. None of those photos were actually of her, of course; Reikai had been quite thorough when creating her mortal background, however. No one would have been able to tell the difference, though memorizing an entire lifetime was a bit of an arduous task. "Everything is fine, Kagome." the kitsune added softly, brushing loose strands of hair from her downcast face. "My parents love you already and Shuichi-kun seems to be having a great time with Souta-kun. Things could have hardly turned out better."

"Do you regret it sometimes? Not being able to tell them." Kagome added when the question simply hung in the air.

The lightest frown creased Kurama's brow. "As knowledge is power, ignorance can hardly be considered bliss, in my opinion, but… in this case, it is for the best. I love my mother and care for my new family," he added thoughtfully, "and I fully intend to ensure their comfort and security. The knowledge of what they are protected from and how is a price worth paying for seeing them happy."

"I see. I'm not proposing to tell them, if that's what you're thinking." Kagome knew that expression of seemingly idle contemplation far too well to underestimate it in any way. "But thank you for telling me. At least you're not alone in this anymore. We'll just have to attribute everything and anything unusual to the insanity of the world." she said, smiling in a rather perky manner.

Kurama laughed quietly, something which never ceased to amaze or thrill her. "Let us hope there will be little cause for that in the coming years. I could do with a little peace after all that has happened."

"Peace? You're a professional trouble magnet!"

Taking another step closer, Kurama finally allowed his arms to encircle her waist, sliding along the silky fabric with what bordered on hedonism. He would have to work on not having Kagome shiver each time her personal space was invaded in such a manner, though part of him liked it. it was all a matter of controlling when the shiver took place. "Rivaled only by yourself, my love."

That was one way to go along with it.

Of course, the kissing part might have helped as well.

To think that he, after thousands of carnalities, truthful or not, could be undone by feeling her fingers entwined in his hair. The amount of energy that was likely pulsing around them would have likely clashed with the very Kekkai, if the barrier was still active, or possibly a shining beacon to anyone who knew how to sense it. Some of the priestess's energy was probably nullified by his, but in his current form, his power wasn't nearly enough to rival a tenth of hers.

But even his train of thought was getting derailed by what her hands and mouth was doing. Thus, for a few precious moments, he allowed things to progress naturally and allowed the train a serious delay, if not the derailment itself.

"And possibly our children." Kurama remarked after a few breathless minutes.

At that, Kagome's eyes jerked open and she pulled as far away as a tight embrace could allow her. Which is to say, about two to three inches. "Children?" she croaked, looking at him incredulously. Evidently, she had all but forgotten their previous argument.

A professional at recognizing panic – especially when he was he one causing it – Kurama allowed his expression to soften. "Hypothetical children." he amended, a bit amused by her reaction. One would think that after centuries spent alone, she would be eager to have a family of her own, especially since now, they were most certainly biologically compatible. "Should you want them."

Kagome ceased trembling and allowed herself to think of that possibility. "You said that purely to rattle me." she accused a few seconds later, frowning.

"Possibly." The way he resembled his former self in that moment was quite enough to make her certain of the actual answer.

"Hypothetically possible." Kagome added dryly.

The smile she was in the middle of receiving turned proud and adoring.

"Of course. Anything is hypothetically possible."

"Except you not teasing me anymore." she noted chidingly.

"Hypothetically, it is. But I have to keep you interested in me somehow."

"I think you would have to try harder to chase me away right now."

Crimson eyebrows rose carefully. "Oh, really? Well, should I ever start trying that, be certain to stop me in time." The vaguely bestial glint in his eyes became slightly more pronounced. Kagome knew how to recognize it by now, a fact she was proud of. "In fact, we should probably make this one of the rules."

There were several rules they had for their time in Ningenkai, all logical and easy to follow. Admittedly, most of them related to secrecy and their powers that were a must-follow… just like this one, in Kagome's opinion. Nevertheless, after all that had happened to them, it would take much more than a little trying to get her to forsake her love. The end of the universe sounded a possible candidate, but even that was hypothetical.

"What we _should_ do is get back inside." She did sound somewhat wistful, though Kagome always was the one with more self-control when self-indulgence was involved. "Our parents have probably finished with desert and placing bets on what we're doing out here for so long."

"Knowing my brother, his desire to keep playing video games will have evaporated within fifteen minutes, so the wagers might end up substantial." Kurama admitted, reluctantly allowing her some room to breathe. "And so I have to leave you yet again for several dozen hours for the sake of a plan I myself helped create." The kitsune gave a tired sigh, offering her his arm. "The hardships I am forced to endure for the sake of long-term masquerade."

Unable to contain her laughter, Kagome at least allowed herself a smile. Lessons in humility didn't get through to him easily, but when they did… "Don't take it too hard; we're doing goniometry this week…."

"Had I known that mathematics is your weakness years ago…" Kurama decided not to finish that thought. Things had turned out quite adequately for them all, hopefully. "I shall come and rescue the fair maiden from the dreaded tangents on Wednesday, as usual."

"I sure hope so." Kagome allowed a breath to escape. "It's the one thing I can't get the hang of." She took the arm offered and gave a small giggle when Kurama highly reluctantly moved sufficiently away to make the gesture appear plausible as platonic.

It turned out that the person who won the betting was the recently awakened jii-chan, who had been talking in his sleep about ballroom dancing and scenes from Titanic. No one had the heart to correct him and the parents adamantly refused to even contemplate what the reward might have been.


	3. Chapter 3

Apologies for the huge gap – I finally have time to continue my fanfic writing. If anyone still wants to see this story continued, please review/PM me and I will go on writing the story with the most support.


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